Trigger warning for body horror and what could be considered self-harm.

Also, shout out to the always amazing Linda Ku for taking the time out to beta this for me. She's a gift.

Once they reached her room, Fern slammed the door in Hank's face. The young man blinked with surprise at the sound of the lock clipping into place.

"Fern?" He raised a hand to knock, but thought better of it. Tucking his fingers against his chest, he pressed his ear to the door. At the sound of her rooting around, the young man raised his voice, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Fern sighed, more to herself than him. Frustration made her scales twinge and she rubbed her arm. At the audible rip, she sighed again and looked at the thin strips of scales between her fingers. Aching eyes stared at them a long time. How inhuman could she possibly get? Hurting people with her skin? Her stomach twisted and she let the strip fall to the floor. It seemed to flutter a moment, swaying in the air as it fell. It wasn't even skin, it was...bestial. Her hand drifted to the missing patch of scales on her side and she swallowed. No wonder people were scared of her. Swallowing the rush of guilt and shame she felt, Fern sneered as he spoke once more.

"What?"

Her hand fell and her voice rose. "I said I'm fine!"

Hank leaned away at the slight shriek in her tone. Concerned and a bit nervous, he pressed, "Are you sure? I could get Charles?"

"Just leave me alone!"

"Or Sean? Do you want me to get Sean?"

"I want you to fuck off, okay?!" Features drawn, she made her way to the bathroom.

Shutting and locking that door as well, the girl huffed and stripped out of the robe they had given her. Her lips curled back at the sight of the scraps of her tensor bandage. All but throwing it in the trash, she pushed her undies down her legs before kicking on the tub's faucet. Fern stared at it a moment, simply watching the water rush out as steam began to fill the room.

Her hands fell to her hips. Digging her nails in, she began to slash at the strange papery covering. It was just damaged skin; damaged scales, that were useless to her. Just an itchy distraction and she didn't want to see them. She didn't want the reminder of what she had done.

Alex…

Ignoring the odd drop of blood where she pressed too deeply, Fern snarled and sliced at her face, her neck, her shoulders. The shroud of her dead scales fluttered to the tiled floor, blanketing it in her mistakes as her movements became frantic. Desperate to get it off, to get rid of the evidence that made her fresh black scales ache as they began to swirl for the first time. Not grey but iridescent. Her breath came in quick, panicked breaths. Her lungs felt tight and the room seemed to be closing in on her as the membrane tried and failed to flick over her eyes. Claws dipping between her breasts, she ignored the odd patch that clung to her, not ready to be stripped, and forced them to give way with an audible, stomach turning rip. A sharp searing pain cleared her head.

With a wince, she paused at the sight of the grey skin between her fingers. Fern let it fall to the tiled floor. The membrane over her right eye flickered and she panted. What the hell was she doing? Leaning back against the sink, Fern winced at the sight of blood on a piece of her old skin. With her feet kicked up on the edge of the tub, she took a deep breath and tried to steady her nerves, but whenever she got even a marginal handle of them, she remembered what she had done to Alex.

Alex, who was a pain in the ass on the best day.

Alex, who always had some snide, sarcastic comment.

Alex, who had only been trying to do something nice for her.

Stomach in knots, the young woman crawled into the tub. The hot water burned her sensitive fresh scales, but she forced herself to stay submerged. Her sharp fingernails slid between her new and old ones and began to gently slice and tug the damaged ones away.

Kicking the faucet, she shut the water off.

Vaguely, she could hear a commotion outside the door, but the young mutant didn't have it in her to pay it any mind. Toes flexing on the porcelain rim, her eyes closed.

A soft voice entered her mind. "Fern?"

"Go away, Charles."

"Is everything alright? Hank said you were-"

"A bitch I know, don't worry about it."

"He didn't put it quite like that. Are you alright?"

Sharp fingernails drifted along her stomach to cup her missing scales. Throat catching, she thought of Sean and how easily it could've been him in Alex's place and felt the damaged membranes try to flicker over her eyes once more. "I should've never come here."

She could practically feel his sigh. It was disturbing, having him in her head. "Fern, nobody thinks that."

"I don't care what they think!" Sitting up, she ignored the water that splashed onto the floor. "I know it! I should've known better! I shouldn't have gotten so comfortable; I forgot…"

From outside the door, the man prompted gently, "You forgot…?"

"How dangerous I am," The girl whispered to herself. Turning her face from the door, she rested her cheek on her knee. Flexing her toes, she watched her scales twirl. A few of them struggled to, too weak from the trauma of being shed before they were ready to properly emote for her.

Charles heard her just fine. "Fern. Come out."

Knees tucked up to her chest, she held them tight and buried her face in their fresh scales. "Just...leave me alone."

Frowning, the man did just that. She felt him leave her mind and heard him leave her room and she wondered what she should do. Undoubtedly, the logical thing to do was leave. She had hurt a team mate- Fern was lucky they weren't kicking her out, or worse, having her arrested.

Sighing, she rested her chin on top of her knee and peeked her left eye open. It was still a little blurry, but better than it had been. The shock of the white from the tub made it sting.

The real problem with leaving was that she had no way to get home. She couldn't drive (Hank and Moira could attest to that). She certainly couldn't ask for a ride after what happened- Fern doubted anyone would want to be in close quarters with her (Hank being the exception, but he had the good sense to wear gloves). She supposed she could hitch hike. Get to a safe place and call her mother...but there weren't really any safe places for people like her. She got turned away even in places where she was known; too weird looking and too likely to cause a scene (well, have a scene caused over her), Fern wasn't exactly welcome, just about anywhere, really.

Her fingers ghosted over her legs, over the rough scutes and squishy glands on her outer thighs. When there was no poison residue to be found, the young woman heaved herself out of the tub. As it drained, Fern was absently pleased she no longer had to worry about getting the sticky black ooze caught in her hair.

Making her way out of the bathroom, she toweled off her scales. The young woman shuddered. The fluffy white material felt rough against her still sensitive glands and her new scales were still a bit raw from the heat of her bath. With heavy hands, Fern dressed herself in a pair of loose pajamas and sat on the bed as she continued to weigh her options.

At least, she began to when Sean interrupted her. A brisk knock and the door was open and the young woman bolted for the bathroom. Shutting and locking the door behind her, she flinched at his startled, "Fe?!"

Fern didn't want him to see her like this. All shiny and broken. She didn't want to face his disappointment, his anger; he had to have known what she did to Alex and the thought of Sean scolding her, of Sean being disgusted with her made the damaged membranes flicker over her eyes.

The young woman jerked back from the door as he banged on it.

"Fe! Open up! It's me!"

Rolling her eyes, Fern hugged herself and leaned against the sink, fully intending to just let him tire himself out.

"Fern! Fern, come on, babe, it can't be that bad, lemme in." His knocking grew lighter, softer and she held herself tighter as Sean sighed. "Come on, it's me. Let me in."

Firm and tired, she told him, "Go away, Sean."

"No! No, I'm not gonna just go away! Open this door, Fern!"

"I said go-"

An ear piercing shriek cut through the air as the door was blown off its hinges.

Fern barely had time to flinch before Sean was stepping over the wreckage. His freckled features went from grim to shocked to contrite at the sight of her. Swallowing, he watched her new black skin swirl, not from shades of grey like he was accustomed to, but quick frantic swirls of iridescent light. Like the colors of an oil puddle. It was beautiful and it broke his heart a bit because it was all his fault. All of this way his fault. If he had just read the stupid bag, none of this would've happened; Alex would be fine, she'd be her normal grey self, but most importantly she wouldn't looks so damn frightened of him.

"Oh, babe."

"Don't." She bent a leg up threateningly between them. "Don't touch me."

"Fe-"

"Don't- don't!" Fern winced as he ignored her, stepping into her space to take her by the arms. Her foot dug into his stomach but she couldn't bring herself to kick him away. Her leg fell to the floor as he pressed against her. "Don't."

The young man flinched at the quiet mew. Her glands were spongy and from how she cringed no doubt sensitive and he quickly left them in favor of cupping her face. When she refused to meet his gaze, stubbornly keeping her face down, he licked his lips. "It was me."

"What?"

"It was me. It was my fuck up, okay?!" Sean shook his head. "You didn't do anything wrong!"

Incredulous, Fern snarled, "Didn't do anything wrong?! I could've killed him!"

"But it wasn't-"

"Yes it was! I thought I was getting the hang of it, but I'm not." Shaking her head, she squirmed in his arms. "I can't stay here like this, Sean, I can't."

He stared at her. Fern kept her head down, but he knew her well enough to read her body. Her toes digging into the tile, the way she dug her fingertips but not her nails into his shoulders as she tried to push him away. Not hard. Not out of anger but fear- she didn't want to hurt him, hurt anyone more than she already had and for a moment, Sean was hopelessly in love with her. With her poison skin and sad eyes and soft heart. His nose brushed hers as he nodded. Voice soft and quiet, he offered her a crooked smile, "Yes, you can."

Ignoring her scowl, he pressed his lips to hers. It was a delicate plea of a kiss that only lasted a second before he pulled back to rest his brow against hers. Fern's blue eyes were wide, confused, but she didn't resist as he began to stroke her cheek with his thumb.

"Don't go, Fe."

Skin spasming, Fern's bottom lip quivered. His gaze was surprisingly somber and she could still feel his mouth; his breath warm and his skin soft and his nose grazing her cheek. It was disturbing, and she didn't trust it. Didn't trust him, or at least not his stupid timing. "I don't need your pity."

She had meant it to be fierce, for it to be mean and strong, but her words came out as a whimper. It made her feel weak and she could barely stand to meet his stare as he shook his head.

Sean's thumb drifted from her cheek to her mouth. The corners were scarred from her sharp teeth, from where she had bitten them over the years, and he wanted to taste them again. "It's not pity, Fern, you know it's not."

The girl frowned and dropped her gaze.

"Stay. See this through."

"I hurt Alex."

"He'll forgive you."

The unease lingered on her sharp features. Unable to look at him, she murmured, "And what if he can't?"

"He will."

"But-"

Sean frowned. A sharpness she hadn't heard before entered his voice as he cupped her shoulders, "Stop making excuses. If you want to learn control, stick around and work on it." His eyes softened and he smiled. "You've been doing so well. What happened tonight wasn't your fault. You got hurt and you reacted, just like I would've." His expression grew serious once more. "You know how many people I've knocked out by accident?"

Fern rolled her eyes. "Knocking someone over-"'

"Full blown concussions, broken bones. I've hurt people too, Fe."

She regarded him a bit more carefully. He seemed serious (a rarity for him) and she trusted his word immediately. "You never told me that."

He lifted a gangly shoulder. "It's been a long time. What happened was my fault. I should've been paying attention and I didn't-"

"You keep saying that but-"

"No, Fe. I was the one who put the chlorine in the pool."

"Oh."

Sean flinched at the blankness in his...friend's voice. "I thought...more would be better and I thought it'd be- I just got lazy, okay?! I thought if I dumped the whole bag-"

"It's okay."

"What?"

The young woman wrapped her arms around his middle and buried her face in his shoulder with a sigh. "It's okay. You didn't know." She tightened her grip. Not quite as steady or as confident as she would've liked, Fern told him, "Thanks for not being scared of me."

He kissed the top of her head. Arms tight around her, Sean sighed. She smelt like chlorine and Tide, and her short hair tickled his neck. "Never could be, babe."

"Stop calling me babe."

"Stop resisting our love."

"Ugh."

His fingers walked down the glossy black scales of her arm. "You're so dark."

Fern hummed, but said nothing. Just pressed closer to him with a smirk.

"It looks good." He rested his cheek on top of her head and watched her skin move in a slow, easy swirl all over her body. "How're you feeling?"

"Tired."

"You should rest."

"I can't," her voice broke as his fingers began to thread through her short hair. "Not until Alex is up."

Sean frowned, but nodded. Giving her arm a rub, he nodded toward the door. "Wanna go check him out?"

Fern bit her lip before she nodded. When her partner went to follow, she put a hand on his chest. Sean glanced down at it, frowned and looked to her expectantly. The mutant woman shook her head at him. "This is something I have to do alone."

"Oh. Alright." He spun and sat on the bed. Sean offered her an encouraging smile. "I'll wait here for you, okay?"

Without a word, she slipped out of the room.

To her complete lack of surprise, Hank was still monitoring Alex. He glanced up as she entered, but merely adjusted his glasses. Mostly to make sure he was seeing her right- or rather seeing her at all. In the dim room, Fern's new black skin was almost imperceptible. If it hadn't been for her bright eyes and grey pajamas, he almost would've thought he was hearing things. Instead of commenting (no matter how desperately he wanted to), he merely waited for her to talk.

"Sorry I slammed the door in your face. And told you to fuck off." Fingers digging into her sweats, she shook her head. "You didn't deserve that."

Hank pursed his lips. With a nod, he told her he understood, "but don't think you can walk all over me just because Alex thinks he can."

"I know I just...got kind of overwhelmed."

"You didn't-"

"No." Fern rubbed the back of her neck. A bit awkwardly, she shifted on her feet. She could feel the trickle of her scales moving over her chest but ignored them as she always did. "If you wanted to get a snack or catch some sleep or something, I could keep an eye on him. I mean, if you wanted."

After a few moments consideration, he pulled the gloves from his hands. "I could really use something to eat. You really wouldn't mind?"

"No! No, not at all. I'd be happy to." On his way out, she caught him by the arm. His brows rose in surprise, but she only offered him a sheepish smile. "Thanks. For helping me and Alex out…"

The taller man grinned. "Happy to help, Fern."

Several hours later, in the wee hours of the morning just before dawn, Alex woke. His eyes fluttered, struggling to focus in the dim light. The first thing he noticed was the sharp pain in his hands. Struggling to close his fingers, he slowly lifted his head off the throw pillow under his neck.

"Hey."

He jumped at the voice. Familiar, luminous blue eyes peered back at him from the dark, but Fern was otherwise invisible in the darkness. Wincing, he struggled to sit up on the desk. "What-"

"Want me to-"

"Don't," the blond huffed, shuffling on his side with a grunt. Pride a bit hurt, he didn't want to come off as weak in front of a team mate. "I've got it."

"Do you want me to get Hank? He said he'd have a sedative ready whenever you wanted it."

"I'm fine," Alex grit out through clenched teeth.

With a swallow, Fern held her knees a bit tighter to her chest. "How're you feeling?"

Easing onto his back once more, he let out a long sigh and closed his eyes. "Like someone took a hammer to my hands. And head. And my fucking hands."

The girl flinched. "I'm sorry."

"You should be."

"I never meant for this to happen. I should've known better, I should've kept my distance." She shook her head, but couldn't bring herself to look at him. She wasn't used to see Alex so...feeble. He was brash and arrogant and strong, and seeing him so pale and listless was a little heartbreaking. "I'll leave if you want me to."

His head rose from the small pillow under his neck. Surprise played across his exhausted features, but the girl didn't look at him. Not dead on. Just out of the corner of her eye.

"The mansion, I mean. If you can't feel safe with me around, I'll go."

"Seriously?"

Her gaze flickered to his and she nodded earnestly.

With a deep breath, Alex let his head fall back on the desk. His fingers rubbed the inside of his palm. They were tender. His whole body was tender and sensitive, like he had stuck a fork in an outlet. He thought of Darwin and how none of the others had ever brought up what he had done to him, brought up the part he had played in his death as unwitting as it was. He thought of playing pinball with him and how unafraid of him Darwin had been- and how unafraid of him Fern had been. Sharing milk with him in the morning and fighting with him and occasionally, annoying him. He didn't want to lose that normalcy. He didn't want to lose another team mate, another friend.

Licking his chapped lips, he shook his head. "You can't leave. You're a danger to society."

"I know," Fern muttered.

"So you should stay until you're not anymore." Fuck, now he was starting to sound like Charles, Alex thought vaguely as she chuckled.

"That's what Sean said."

"God, I must be real messed up if Sean's making sense."

The brunette clenched her sharp teeth at the slight, but didn't tell him to shut up like she wanted. She had done enough to him without bruising his ego too, Fern reasoned. "He's been asking to see you."

"Has he seen you yet?"

A smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. "Yeah."

"Guess you can't say you're not black now."

Her fingers found her elbow. Stroking the fresh inky scales, she lifted a shoulder. The color was still foreign to her. It was jarring to such an integral part of her body change in only a few hours; from what had been a familiar flint grey to an inky black. It felt almost like it wasn't hers anymore. Like it was a shirt she should be able to take off, but she knew the feeling would pass. She hoped the feeling would pass. "Hank says it's just superficial. I should be as tough as I ever was...just a different color now."

Alex frowned at the quiet resignation in her voice. "Does it hurt?"

"Not anymore." They were a bit tender, but the searing pain had passed and she no longer felt inclined to claw her skin off, so yeah. Big improvement, she would say. "How about you? Honestly?"

The boy shrugged. "I've had worse."

"But does it hurt?" She pressed, already knowing the answer, but needing to hear it again, needing to ingrain it in her mind so she would never, ever forget what she had done.

"Yeah, a bit."

"I'm sorry."

He scoffed at the quiet regret in her tone. "Quit bein' such a girl, Ailey."

"I just- you were trying to do something nice for me and it's not fair!"

"Fair?" The young convict echoed with a lifted brow and a hint of a sneer. "Fern, when they were doling out fair, they skipped us mutants entirely."

She offered him a weak quirk of her lips, but stayed quiet.

Sighing, Alex rubbed a hand over his face and moved to sit up again. When he couldn't quite make it, he held out an expectant arm to her. "I gotta take a leak. Mind helpin' me to the washroom?"

The young brunette blinked with surprise, but stood immediately. "Really?"

"I'm not asking ya to hold it for me or anything, but the least you can do is help me get there."

Nodding eagerly, she was at his side before the words were out of her mouth, "Right, sure, of course."

As he swung his legs over the edge of the desk, his arm went around her shoulders. She braced him as he pointed a firm finger in her face. "You never tell anyone of this, got it, Frog Girl?"

Fern's eyes narrowed. "Don't make me drop you, Summers."

His hand fell to his back as a sharp pain echoed through his spine. Hissing through his teeth, he stumbled, but her hands stayed firm around his waist. Despite this, Alex continued to run his mouth, "You can't drop me, you've hurt me enough as it is. You owe me your silence."

"I don't owe you shit, if you don't drop that tone."

"This is the tone of righteousness. You put me in a coma." He kept his footsteps short but quick and was pleased she let him keep the pace. He wasn't sure he'd be able to keep up with her usual long strides.

"Doesn't mean you can be a dick about it."

"Yes it does!"

"No."

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes, it does, Fern, fuck- ow no!" He winced as she dropped him on the toilet. Thankfully the lid was up, but the indignity remained. "Gentle!"

"Oh my god, why did I ever-"

"Alex?" Hank called.

"We're in here!" The girl called.

"No!" Alex snapped in a harsh whisper. "Don't say that! You promised."

Slightly bewildered, she sneered at him, "No, I didn't."

"It was implied!"

Breezing out the door, she waved a dismissive hand as Hank slipped in beside her. "Should've thought've that before you ran your mouth."

The blond glared after her as Hank offered to help him take off his pants.